Swraj Paul bets on election victory for Labour

The British parliament has passed a legislation that will restrict contributions to political parties by non-domicile residents, but India-born Labour peer Swraj Paul has affirmed that his commitment to the party remains firm irrespective of such contributions.

The British parliament has passed a legislation that will restrict contributions to political parties by non-domicile residents, but India-born Labour peer Swraj Paul has affirmed that his commitment to the party remains firm irrespective of such contributions.

"I'll do whatever is in accordance with the law," Paul, a longtime contributor to the Labour and a non-domicile for tax purposes, said in the wake of the passage of the bill which is yet to become law.

Underlining his strong support to the party and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Paul said, "My position is very clear. I support the Labour Party and I will continue to support if the law allows me. However, irrespective of the fact whether I can support with money, I am a well-wisher and strong supporter of Labour party and its Prime Minister."

The leading NRI industrialist, the first Indian to be elected the Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords, was convinced that the Labour under the leadership of Brown will return to power in next year's May general elections, despite string of opinion polls favouring the Conservative Party.

"If you see the opinion polls which were there with (Conservative Prime Minister) John Major, six months before elections in 1992, everybody had written him off. But he won. So one has to wait for those three weeks of campaign after elections are declared," Paul, a close friend of Brown, said in London.